


I Am Afraid of All That I've Built

by somedayisours



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Gen, Introspection, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 12:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20742263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somedayisours/pseuds/somedayisours
Summary: "He loves Steve more than he'll ever realize, that's why he leaves in the night."





	I Am Afraid of All That I've Built

He spends two years running.

He gets two years to learn how to wear James Barnes' skin, to learn how to be himself again. Two years of relative peace before he's dragged right back into it all, two years of playing at normal before Steve's knocking at his door. But by then so is the rest of the world.

And then he's fighting, clawing tooth and nail just to continue breathing. There's no room in him to hate anyone but himself anymore.

It's in the aftermath, when the fight has finally stalled, that Bucky can do something more than play at normalcy. There's no need for running in Wakanda, no need for hiding or playing. But then there's Steve. Steve who never could back down from a fight, even when it was one he was going to lose. Bucky'd saved the punk's hide more times than he can bother to count.

Steve hasn't changed in a hundred years, the stakes are just grander.

Bucky loves Steve more than he'll ever realize, that's why he leaves in the night.

**Author's Note:**

> I was reading a Steve/Bucky fic where Bucky tells Steve (after being asked) that he wasn't going to run away, that he wanted this life without the fight. He didn't want to kill like he did as the Winter Soldier, he didn't want revenge. That's his character, especially after being the Winter Soldier. And yet Steve has never backed down from a fight, not once. It got me thinking, Steve can't stop fighting and Bucky can't keep fighting. So Bucky leaves him.


End file.
